Are You Happy Now?
by LGCoffeeAddict
Summary: "Karev, your wife is in my house!" When a distraught Izzie shows up on Addison's doorstep, it falls to the redhead to reconcile Izzie and her husband, forcing Addison and Alex to face their history and once again try to fight their undeniable chemistry.
1. Chapter 1

Are You Happy Now?

A **Grey's Anatomy** fic by Gigi

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 1: On My Doorstep

**A/N: I don't really have any premise for this story, and I have a feeling it's going to be more on the mushy side in the long run. I just have this one scene in my head, which is the one that starts this fic. Hopefully a story will pan out of it. Enjoy!**

**A/N 2: So, that thing called Time is really warped in this. I'm pretending that in Private Practice world, as much as it pains me to say it because I love them, Addison and Pete have just broken up (in the same way they broke up in the finale). Addison did **_**not**_**, however, go to Sam's and get it on with him on his couch. Under normal circumstances, I might have liked Addison and Sam, and I was actually excited for them for a while, but when it came to picking Pete or Sam, I **_**hated**_** Addison and Sam. But that's not the point. So my point is this picks up at the end of season 3 of Private Practice, but in the middle of season 6 of Grey's, right after Izzie's last appearance on the show. Okay. **_**Now**_** enjoy.**

In Los Angeles, Santa Monica, to be exact, there was a beach. On this beach was a house, and in this house, on a couch, sat Addison Adrienne Forbes Montgomery, OB/GYN and neonatal surgeon extraordinaire—and a royal mess in every other area in her life—with her feet propped up on the coffee table and the television remote in hand.

As Addison flipped through the channels, searching for a horrible soap opera that would take her mind off of what she just did. She took a sip from the very large glass of red wine sitting on the table next to her. She just wanted to forget everything about this night. She wanted to forget that her best friend's daughter almost died. She wanted to forget that Dell _did_ die. She wanted to forget that Charlotte and Cooper got engaged. She wanted to forget that Violet and Pete got back together. She wanted to forget that _she_ helped Pete go back to Violet.

Why was she such a masochist? Why did she feel the need to be the bigger person at that point in time and push the first man she'd really loved since leaving Seattle into another woman's arms?

A little voice inside her head pointed out now that she could maybe have a chance with Sam, but she refused to acknowledge it. She didn't even love Sam like she thought she had. She just loved the idea of Sam and the fact that she couldn't have him without losing her best friend. That forbidden fruit had been dangling in front of her for so long that the temptation started to feel like unrequited love.

God, her life was a mess. She took another swig of her wine with a vengeance. She missed Pete already. She missed that bubbling laugh that burst out of Lucas' sweet face every time he saw her. She missed the way Pete would hold her.

Another very large sip of wine.

The sound of the doorbell ringing broke Addison out of her woe-ridden reverie, and she almost resented the person on the other side of that door for interrupting her wallowing time. This was _really_ a time she needed to wallow.

The doorbell rang again. Reluctantly, Addison heaved herself up from the couch and made her way to the front of the house. She took a deep, cleansing breath and opened the door.

When she saw who was on the other side, Addison thanked God she hadn't gotten to the crying phase of her wallowing yet. On her doorstep stood a tall, gorgeous surgical resident, with short, curled blonde hair. Addison remembered when it had been much longer—back when her own hair had been much longer, too.

"Dr. Stevens?" Addison asked incredulously. She quickly went over the night's events to make sure she hadn't drunk too much wine, but she realized she'd only been on her first glass when the doorbell rang. "What are you doing here?"

Isobel Stevens, Izzie, stood there with her arms holding a jacket in front of her. There was a look in her eyes that Addison knew all too well. Despair. Hopelessness. Loss. Heartbreak. No doubt, that same look still haunted Addison's pale blue eyes. "I married Alex," Izzie declared.

Hearing that name sent Addison for a loop. Her eyes widened in shock, and a huge knot suddenly appeared in her chest. This night just wasn't giving her a break. "You married Karev?" Addison tried her hardest not to sputter; Izzie wouldn't know why that news would knock the breath out of her husband's former boss.

A somber Izzie nodded. "We're getting a divorce," she proceeded.

Now Addison was just confused. "What?"

"I thought he was the reason behind me getting fired, so I left," Izzie explained. "I left him with a dozen medical bills to pay and refused to answer his calls or talk to him. Then I went back to get my medical records transferred to another hospital so I could work somewhere near him and work out our marriage." She stopped.

"And?" Addison prodded. She momentarily forgot her own problems. As horrible as it sounded, she had found her soap opera.

"And he told me he knows he deserves to be treated better than I treated him," Izzie solemnly concluded, looking down at her feet. "He's right."

Despite herself, Addison nodded along. She stilled her head just in time for Izzie to look up with watery eyes. "I'm sorry that ended like that," Addison offered softly, not really knowing what to say under the circumstances when all she really wanted to know was why the hell Izzie was on her doorstep. "Just take comfort in the fact that he stayed faithful. It's the worst feeling in the world to know your husband left you to be with another woman." She had a momentary flashback to the morning she found black panties in her husband's tux after a prom Seattle Grace Hospital put on for the Chief's niece. Great. Just what she needed after just breaking up, a flashback to her broken marriage, yet another failure.

A small, self-deprecating laugh escaped Izzie's throat. "I don't know that for a fact, considering how long I was gone."

"Can I ask you something?" Addison queried. After a slight nod from the blonde woman, she continued. "Why did you come here?"

"I had no place else to go," Izzie shrugged. "Meredith and Lexie live with Alex, and Christina lives with Owen Hunt, and God knows I never endeared myself to Callie. You're the only one who I haven't completely alienated during this whole thing, although we weren't ever really friends. You're also the only one who could relate on any level."

Addison did a double take. So did she know…? "Relate?"

"You're the only person I know who is divorced, you know, aside from me now," Izzie answered.

"Yeah, because that's a trait I love about myself," Addison said dryly, trying to slow her heart down. She didn't know about… that. Good.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to…" Izzie trailed off, uncertain of how to talk herself out of the hole she'd just entered.

"It's fine, really," the redhead dismissed. "Can I ask you something else?" Izzie nodded once again. "Do you still want him?" Another nod. "Why don't you come inside? I'll draw up a bubble bath for you so that you can relax. Bubble baths were what kept me sane through everything with Derek."

"That would be nice." Izzie stepped inside and paused when she stood right next to Addison. "Thank you." Addison simply smiled and closed the door behind her.

**8D**

Back in Seattle, a morose Alex Karev sat on his bed, staring at the wall in front of him. He'd done it. For once, he'd finally said what he was feeling since all of this started. Actually since a few years ago, when he tried and failed miserably at saying what he really felt to his beautiful redhead of a boss. He failed at saying what he felt, panicked and sent her packing for the sunnier skies of LA. "At least this time I didn't screw it up," he said to himself.

It struck him as odd, though. He was getting a divorce, and he had the chance to stop that from happening when Izzie wanted to give them another shot. But where anyone else would consider getting a divorce the screwing up portion of the deal, Alex thought just the opposite. It was the first time in years that Alex wasn't afraid to say what he felt, and to him, that was one of his greatest victories.

His cell phone rang, snapping him out of his trance. He looked at the bedside clock. Nine o'clock. Who would be calling him so late? It wouldn't be the hospital; they'd have paged him instead. Intrigued, Alex reached over and picked up his phone. "Hello?" he answered gruffly.

"Karev, your wife is in my house!" a woman whispered fervently into the phone. She sounded almost pissed off at him.

At first, Alex had no idea what to say. That voice sounded frighteningly like that redhead that once consumed his thoughts. He'd never met anyone with a voice similar to that one, and there was only one woman who'd call him Karev outside the hospital. "Dr. Montgomery?"

"Yes, it's Dr. Montgomery," Addison affirmed, looking over her shoulder at the closed door leading to her bathroom, where Izzie was currently taking a luxurious bubble bath. "Stevens is here."

"Why?" Alex asked, confused. It wasn't like Izzie would have had any idea of the exact… nature of his relationship with his former boss.

"Because I'm apparently the only washed up divorcée she knows," Addison grumbled.

"You're hardly washed up, Dr. Montgomery," Alex said to his own surprise. He hadn't actually meant to say that, and _especially_ not in such a fond tone!

There was a pause on the other end of the line, until Addison remembered herself and stuttered, "T-Thanks, Karev." There was more silence, only this time it was because Addison had no idea what to say. "You need to come out here, Karev."

"What? Why?" He felt like her intern again, always questioning her commands.

"She messed up, and she's a mess right now. I get that," Addison started to explain. A small amount of suppressed pain entered her voice soon after her first words though. "I messed up, too. But Derek gave me a second chance. I get what Stevens feels, probably more than you realize. I get that if she feels she made a mistake that is so huge that you won't even consider giving your _marriage_ a second chance, there's a large possibility that she won't recover from that." She paused, but even over the phone, she could tell he wasn't wholly convinced. "Look, if nothing else, it'll give you both some sort of closure so that you can move on with your lives and possibly be friends in the future."

"You would have gone far as a car salesperson," Alex commented.

"I've gotten that so many times, you wouldn't believe," Addison laughed. "But does that mean I convinced you?"

Alex thought it over in his head. He didn't want to be the asshole of a husband who wouldn't try to fix his marriage, but he knew now that he didn't love Izzie, not in the way he was supposed to, anyway. A small voice in his head pointed out that he didn't want to seem like that asshole in _Addison_'s eyes; that he'd be near _Addison_; that he could possibly fix a relationship, even if it wasn't necessarily the one he was supposed to. "I'd need a place to stay," he announced.

"Thank you, Alex," Addison said softly. It was the first time she'd used his first name in three years. Even three years ago, his first name leaving her lips was a rarity. "You can stay with me. I have two guest bedrooms. Just send me your flight information, and I'll pick you up from the airport."

"I don't have your number or any of your contact information." He looked at his cell's screen. "You're using Izzie's phone?"

"Well, it isn't like I have _your_ information on speed dial either," Addison defended. "Richard will have all my information, which is just as well, since you're going to have to ask for a leave of absence."

"Alright, I'll call you with the flight information in the morning."

"Okay, talk to you then, bye," Addison concluded, hanging up the phone. She deleted the call from the call log and slipped it back into Izzie's purse just in time for the woman in question to come out in a towel.

"Were you just talking to someone?" she asked curiously.

"Just a friend," Addison excused. "Get dressed. We're going to have a marvelous night full of pizza, Ben & Jerry's and really bad TV."

Now, she needed that horrible soap opera more than ever, especially now that she managed to get herself entangled in yet another one.

**A/N: So what do you think for a beginner? This should tickle some of you. The word count on this chapter is 2010, which just happens to be not only this year, but the year that I graduate! I actually graduate tomorrow, and then I'm out of town with limited internet access for a week. So **_**please**_** review as much as you can and enjoy this, because I won't be able to post anything next week. Once again, REVIEW!**


	2. Just Want You to Know

Are You Happy Now?

A **Grey's Anatomy** fic by Gigi

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 2: Just Want You to Know

**A/N: I really should be studying. Seriously.**

**A/N 2: Except not anymore, because I'm on my way home _for six weeks!_**

Addison fiddled with the straps of her Coach leather purse as she stood among countless people awaiting loved ones to come into the arrivals gallery. She couldn't help but feel out of place whenever a person standing near her eagerly rushed forward to greet a friend, a boyfriend, a girlfriend, a spouse, a child—no matter who they greeted, it always began with a tight hug, maybe even a kiss. Addison knew her retrieval of Alex Karev would be an awkward nod and a hello from a few feet away—at best.

What else was there to do? Ever since whatever they had crashed and burned shortly before her decision to move to LA, they kept things professional, even if he did still open up to her on occasion. At that moment in time, then more than ever, Addison cursed the woman she'd been three years ago. If she had been able to keep her knees shut for once, things would be so much less complicated. She wouldn't be feeling incredibly awkward standing in an airport lobby, and she wouldn't be jumping at every word Izzie said, thinking she was somehow implying that she knew about Addison's fling with her soon-to-be ex-husband.

Unfortunately, her musings were cut short when a familiar military jacket and buzz haircut caught her eye. It occurred to her that she had no idea how to get his attention. Calling him Karev would seem too gruff and impersonal, but Alex was far too cozy and intimate than their current relationship would suggest. Alex was still turning his head this way and that, searching the crowd for her. Sighing, she settled for pushing her way to the very front of the crowd and flipping her hair, making the red locks catch the light.

It worked like a charm. Alex's eyes immediately found hers, and she found herself walking up to meet him. Stopping a few steps from the man, she dissipated the inevitable awkward silence. "Thanks for coming, Karev."

Alex winced inwardly at the formality in the redhead's voice. "Well, you were right. I shouldn't give up on my marriage so easily," he answered smoothly.

A small, sad smile formed on Addison's lips. "I'm glad you see it that way," she responded, honesty ringing through loud and clear. "Let's get going, shall we?"

Twenty minutes later, the uncomfortable silence that had been forestalled in the airport descended with a vengeance as Addison pulled out of the hourly parking lot. Every now and then, Addison would glance out of the corner of her eye to the man staring intently out the window. "So…" she began, trailing off when she realized she had no idea what to say. She'd just wanted it to stop being so _quiet_. Coughing, she continued, "Um, how was your flight?"

Alex shrugged stiffly. "It was alright, I guess. I kind of passed out the second the plane was off the ground." His eyes never moved from the window.

Biting her lip in frustration, Addison wracked her brain for another—safe—topic of discussion. "How's everything at the hospital? Have you chosen a specialty yet?"

This time she received a snort. "I haven't really had all that much time to figure it all out, Dr. Montgomery," he replied wryly, "what with Izzie getting cancer, O'Malley dying and getting left by my wife."

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Addison's grip on the steering wheel tightened ever so slightly. "I'm not asking you to have the rest of your life planned out, just a general direction," she pressed. "As an intern, you were pretty much set on plastics."

"And I stopped being set on plastics way before my intern year ended," he reminded her.

Now it was her turn to shrug. "You haven't found that same interest or affinity for anything else?"

"Bailey thinks I'd do well in peds, but I can't really see that happening," he finally admitted.

"Why not?" Now they were getting somewhere. Addison smirked inwardly. That uncomfortable silence was nowhere to be seen.

"I don't see myself being a peds surgeon," Alex shrugged, unable to explain any further. "I always figured that, if I got involved in anything concerning children, that I would do neonatal surgery."

Addison was thankful that she had just stopped at a red light, for she snapped her head around to stare at the man sitting in the passenger seat. "Really?"

Now that he held her complete attention, the slight tensing of his shoulders didn't go unnoticed. Addison quirked an eyebrow in response. Had he just forgotten whom he was talking to?

"It's not like I'm planning on it," Alex scrambled, finally turning his head to face her. "I'm leaning more towards ortho. Callie's a good teacher."

A flicker of…something…flashed across his face, and as Addison turned her attention back to the road at the light turning green, a bitter taste lingered in her mouth. "You slept with her." Silence reigned once again.

It wasn't a question. They both knew it.

"Years ago," he muttered into the air.

"How long ago?" For some reason, Addison couldn't stop the tension she was feeling from leaking into her words.

"Before she even knew who O'Malley was," Alex assured her. "She thought _I_ was the heart in the elevator guy."

Addison didn't know what to make of that. The heart surgery in a broken down elevator had taken place before she had even officially joined Seattle Grace. She remembered chasing Richard around, trying to get him to calm down. Back when she'd still been the She-Shepherd to Alex Karev.

"Did you ever tell her the truth?" she asked quietly. Why was the knowledge that her best friend had slept with him before she herself had spoken more than a handful of words to either one of them bothering her so much?

Alex nodded, oblivious to the questions brewing in his companion's mind. "At the worst possible time in the middle of surgery," he confessed. "Strangely enough, I told her _before_ I slept with her."

"Well, at least there's that," came the dry response, puzzling them both.

"What?"

"Never mind," she recovered, putting the car in park in the driveway of her beach house. "Well, here we are."

Alex glanced out the window, took one look at the modern luxury home and said, "I never pictured you living in a house by the beach."

Addison bristled at the statement but chose to remain silent. Instead, she occupied herself with getting out of the car. "Well, you can ponder the ways my life here is different from how you imagined it _after_ you've talked to your wife."

"Where is she, anyway?" he asked after he joined her at the trunk of her car.

"Out getting a pedicure," Addison answered, closing the trunk hatch as soon as he'd removed his luggage. "I set up an appointment so that she'd be out when we got here."

The pair walked up the path leading to her front door. Before she could open the door, however, Alex's hand lightly gripped her wrist. "What do I say to her, Dr. Montgomery?" His voice matched his eyes, which were swimming with a mixture of hurt and regret. "Last time I saw her, I literally told her I was too good for her."

Addison's clear blue gaze softened, and she placed her free hand on his, which still rested on her wrist. "I think you can call me Addison while you're here, Karev," she suggested with a comforting smile. "Don't take back what you said, because you obviously meant it. Just…let her know you feel badly for not giving you both the chance to talk through your problems together."

Some of the tension left Alex's eyes at her words. "Thank you, Addison," he expressed, squeezing her wrist softly in gratitude. She sent him another smile and resumed opening the door. Once they were both standing in the foyer with the door closed behind them, he spoke again. "But you have to call me Alex."

Addison hesitated. "Are you sure that's wise? Izzie might wonder when we came to be on such familiar terms."

"You calling me Alex is no more suspicious than me calling you Addison," he countered smoothly.

Uncertainty still colored her eyes, but she nodded slowly. "Okay," she acquiesced. "If you insist."

"I do," he declared. A beat of silence rang between the two, until Alex decided another apology was needed—and not for his wife. "As for when we…first become so familiar with one another," he started, noticing the way she stiffened at the memories that flooded back with his words, "I really owe you an apology."

"You don't have to," Addison's voice had grown uncharacteristically soft, but Alex would have none of it.

"Yes, I do," he argued. "I was an ass, and I used you as the shovel I used to bury any and all feelings I had for you. You didn't deserve that."

The two stood in the foyer, staring at each other for a few minutes. Finally, Addison seemed to gather herself enough to speak again. "I got over it all a long time ago, but thank you for that, Alex."

Alex couldn't help the small smile that tugged at his lips at the sound of his name slipping past her lips. "You're welcome, Addison."

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed it, because I definitely can't wait for the juicy stuff. I now have a twitter account, LGCoffeeAddict, so follow me for updates, randomness, and shout-outs! But first, you must pass a test. It's quite easy, actually. You pass as long as you REVIEW!**


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